San Carlos Nuevo Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico

I may have landed in Hermosillo, but my Mexican adventure really began when I arrived in San Carlos Nuevo Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico.

I hadn’t planned on coming to San Carlos – I had never even heard of it before – but I had promised myself to be flexible with my plans while travelling. I had originally planned on visiting Bahia Kino after staying a few days in Hermosillo, but those plans changed for two reasons.

First, when I was waiting for a connecting flight in Pheonix, Arizona, I got chatting with a few Americans also waiting for the same flight. They were mostly folks involved in the mineral exploration that is happening in and around Hermosillo. They warned me that the city was rather bland, mostly just a stopping point to get out to the mines. They were right – I was less than impressed with the city, so didn’t mind leaving early.

I also had inadvertently booked myself into the worst hostel I’ve ever stayed in. I don’t have high expectations of hostels, but I do want them to be reasonably warm, quiet at night and I want the room I paid for. My ‘private’ room was little more than a stall with a bed and a half-door, which meant I heard all the people in the other stalls all night long. The AC was also turned up to high so I was freezing cold, in the desert, in Mexico.

The second reason those plans changed is that one of the Americans suggested that Bahia Kino was kind of boring and that San Carlos Nuevo Guaymas was much better. He also told me of a little beachfront bar/restaurant called the Soggy Peso that I had to check out.

I was feeling adventurous, so off I went, not speaking any real Spanish, into a part of the country where almost no one spoke English. I had a blast.

As you can see, I found the Soggy Peso and I highly recommend it. The food was great, the view even better. I was introduced to Takate Rojo (basically the “Canadian” or “Budweiser” of Mexico, nothing great, but refreshing on a hot day). I spent hours enjoying the sun, sand and surf at the Soggy Peso, the best part of San Carlos.

San Carlos Nuevo Guaymas is a part of the city of Guaymas, just a short bus ride towards the coast. It has around 7.000 residents, a mixture of ex-pats and Mexicans. There are many resorts and RV parks that spot the coast.

The entertainment in San Carlos focuses on outdoor adventure. The diving is said to be fantastic. The water is crystal clear, calm and warm. The Gulf of California also offers great fishing.

Many people enjoy rock climbing in the foothills.and mountains. I went horseback riding into the desert since I was still adjusting to the heat. The temperatures are quite warm all year round.

San Carlos was one of the more “touristy” places I visited but it was a lot of fun none the less. I also learned that I needed to be much more careful about the heat, after getting heatstroke while looking for my hostel.